The proposal of tuition fees for non-EU students is a “very problematic” move that will be “damaging” to Norwegian universities, an international office head has said.

An announcement was made in the country’s state budget that public universities would see a real-terms cut in funding – something the government said it expects institutions to “earn back through tuition fees” starting Autumn 2023.

However, according to the University of Stavanger’s international office chief, no real communications have been made. While most universities vehemently opposed the proposal, it was approved by Norwegian parliament before Christmas.

“This is very problematic – we cannot charge tuition fees until a change in the law has actually been made,” Bjarte Hoem told The PIE News.

The budget cut, he explained, does not mean an actual change in law yet – existing law, in fact, prevents institutions from charging such fees – meaning most are left extremely confused about the next steps.

Minister of Research and Higher Education Ola Borten Moe said in a conference with higher education institutions on January 10 that a decision “has been taken”, which organisations will have to accept.

“The government, the Conservative Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Progressive Party are in favour of this, so this will be worked through. It is not fruitful to take up this debate again,” Moe warned, referring to the debate in parliament that took place in December.

“In the vast majority of cases, Norwegian students have to pay tuition fees to study abroad. There is no reason why it should be any different here. Norway will still be open to students from all countries, but we think it is right and reasonable that they also pay for themselves,” Moe also said previously.

“Neither… a change to the law has been adopted, nor have we received any information about when this will happen”

Submitted for consultation, the law will most likely be implemented at the end of January.

As most universities’ application deadlines for the next intake were at the end of 2022, students who have already applied for Autumn 2023 will be given an ultimatum – pay the tuition or withdraw your application.

Those who choose to pay will then need to pay by the end of May 2023.

The cuts have also led Stavanger to warn its employees of potential downsizing, costing the university 7.5 million Norwegian kroner for just one semester, and an estimated NOK 30m from 2025.

“We react strongly to [Moe’s comments], that a decision has been made, when that decision came in the form of a state budget.

“Neither a regulation nor a change to the law has been adopted, nor have we received any information about when this will happen. Meanwhile the admission process for the next academic year is in full swing, and applicants are probably wondering what is happening,” Hoem insisted.

Stavanger has made headlines in recent days as it has publicly released its projected tuition fee costs – something it is extremely reluctant and opposed to doing.

Master’s degrees in technology, natural sciences and performing arts will cost around NOK 150,000 (£12,250), while business school, humanities and health masters will cost around £10,200. Bachelor’s will be cheaper at around £6,500 per year.

However, Hoem pointed out that this will be only a “marginal cost” – the actual will be much more – and may have to be increased further to be in line with other Norwegian institutions, as the figures are “only indicative”.

“We expect to lose most of our non-EU students if they have to pay to study”

“We chose to set the fees at marginal cost, that is the extra cost of including one more student in a study program which is already up and running and has available space. It does not include the actual cost of academics and infrastructure,” he explained.

Hoem is worried about the optical damage this will do to Norway’s study destination clout, and to the region Stavanger lies in.

“We expect to lose most of our non-EU students if they have to pay to study, as happened in neighbouring countries when they did the same.

“The Stavanger region is a very international one, with a demand for highly skilled professionals, and many of our non-European candidates have ended up living and working here,” he added.

The country’s University and College Council has told Norwegian news publication Khrono that it is drawing up plans to tackle the problems that come with introducing tuition fees.

Khrono also said that a team of universities – including the Universities of Bergen, Tromsø, Oslo and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology – has already agreed to form a committee attempting to figure out how tuition fees should be calculated. A proposal will be drawn up in the coming weeks.

The post Norway int’l tuition fees “very problematic” appeared first on The PIE News.

Education providers in Australia have largely welcomed the government’s decision to reinstate the cap on working hours for international students, but argue that study-related work experience should not count towards the limit. 

The amount of hours that international students in the country are permitted to work is set to be capped once again from 30 June 2023, after the 40 hour fortnightly limit was lifted in January last year. It has not yet been announced how many hours students will be able to work once the policy returns. 

In submissions to a parliamentary inquiry in December, many universities welcomed the change with the Group of Eight saying unlimited work hours “has the potential to distract students from their studies and has been linked to a rise in non-genuine student visa applications”. 

“It is also critical that Australia actively works to maintain its enviable reputation for quality and not allow international student talent to become perceived as a proxy migrant workforce,” the organisation wrote. 

Bond University echoed this, saying that Australian education is becoming “an easy target for non-genuine students”, while Navitas said that “unscrupulous providers and agents” are exploiting the policy. Both Bond University and Victoria TAFE also said that the policy is impacting course completion rates. 

But the University of Adelaide and UNSW Sydney urged the government to maintain unrestricted work hours. 

“The amendment of international student work hour allowance during the Covid-19 pandemic not only provided much needed financial support to international students but also kept several domestic businesses afloat,” UNSW wrote, adding that the policy is “mutually beneficial” for businesses and students.

Other education bodies expressed concern that unlimited work hours are driving exploitation, after Australian newspaper The Age reported that some colleges were supporting foreign workers to enter the sex industry. 

“Recent media attention has exposed the role some private for-profit institutions are playing in facilitating exploitation of students – charging low student fees and turning a blind eye to student non-attendance at classes,” wrote Victoria TAFE. “This behaviour has been fuelled by uncapping of work hours for international students.”

The National Tertiary Education Union said that unlimited work hours would “make these visas even more attractive to individuals and organisations involved in labour trafficking”. 

“These factors make international student workers susceptible to exploitation by employers”

The trade union noted that international students are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, regardless of a limit on work hours, as their visas are subject to less employment regulation in general. 

“These factors make international student workers susceptible to exploitation by employers, with underpayment, wage theft, bullying, harassment, and labour trafficking all potential risks,” said NTEU.

A number of educators also questioned how the policy applies to study-related work experience, with RMIT calling for “greater clarity” around how course placements, particularly unpaid ones, impact work hours. 

Under the previous policy, only mandatory work placements did not count towards the 40 hours, but any other jobs were counted, including unpaid roles and work experience as part of electives.

Griffith University recommended that non-compulsory work-integrated learning should not count towards the total number of permitted work hours for those on student visas, arguing that the policy creates an “unnecessary barrier for international students in obtaining relevant work experience and connecting with potential employers”. The University of Melbourne also said that an exemption should be granted for students taking internship subjects as electives. 

“Decisions of this nature are entirely a matter for government”

Universities Australia suggested that the fortnightly limit should only apply to paid work hours, but the organisation stopped short of commenting specifically on whether or not it supported the removal of limited work hours. 

“Lifting the cap on set working hours for international students was always intended to be a temporary measure to help address workforce shortages,” Universities Australia acting chief executive Peter Chesworth told The PIE. “Decisions of this nature are entirely a matter for government.

“The cap on working hours has served universities and international students well, allowing them to balance paid work with their studies without jeopardising valuable study time.  

“We will continue to work closely with the government, through the review of Australia’s migration system and other forums, to ensure universities can continue to serve Australia’s interests.”

Canada also temporarily removed restrictions on work hours for international students in November 2022 in a bid to address the country’s labour shortages. The move was hotly debated by the sector.

The post Remove study placements from Australia’s work hour cap, say universities appeared first on The PIE News.

In 2013, Penny Ur was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to English language teaching. She is a bestselling author who has written extensively on the subject, and has over 30 years experience in classrooms in Israel. It’s hard to believe that Ur almost gave up during her first year of teaching.

“By the grace of God, I didn’t. I’m still here,” she tells The PIE. However, the experience allows Ur to empathise with those dipping their toes in the ELT water for the first time.

“For a young teacher beginning their first year, the first year is always tough. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t go as brilliantly as you hoped.

“Relax. It’s not just all about you. It’s about the students,” she advises.

Originally from England, Ur emigrated to Israel to begin her career as an elementary teacher, however, she found that there was a real need for English teachers.

It wasn’t long before she started writing articles on the subject and in 1981, Ur published her first book with Cambridge, whom she is still publishing with today, including having written several bestselling methodology titles for Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

She looks back fondly on seeing her name in print for the first time, and admits she has now lost count of how many titles she has written.

During her professional lifetime, the sector has evolved and for Ur one of the biggest changes has been a huge swing from English as mainly the language of the English-speaking nations to the language being a tool of international communication.

When pressed on the importance of English as a lingua franca, Ur highlights that she prefers the use of the acronym EPIC – English for purposes of international communication.

“I think this expresses what English is doing today and that who uses it doesn’t really matter so much, whether they’re coming from one of the English-speaking communities or they’re coming from one of the communities who speak other languages. The point is that English is being used by everybody primarily for international purposes rather than intra-national purposes.

“I think it is really important that teachers are aware they are teaching international English, rather than any one of the native varieties.”

Similarly, Ur seems to reject the term ‘English as a Foreign language’, instead preferring the use of ‘English as an International language’.

“Today English doesn’t belong to someone else. It belongs to all of us”

“The word ‘foreign’ implies that it belongs to someone else and today English doesn’t belong to someone else. It belongs to all of us.”

Ur, retired, is still based in Israel still finds herself being rewarded for her contributions to the sector. In 2013, she was awarded an OBE and more recently in 2022, she received the award for Outstanding Achievement at the British Council’s ELTons Awards – both of which she describes as career highlights.

“The nice thing about both of those awards was how many people were happy about it. There was lots of sharing of delight.

“People always ask me if I’m proud about it. I think proud is the wrong word. No false modesty, I think I earned the awards fairly. But at the same time, I’m aware that there are a lot of other people out there in ELT who have contributed at least as much as I have and some of them more who should have got priority over me perhaps before. I’m aware of that at the same time as I’m grateful for having got the awards myself.”

For those more experienced teachers, who want to emulate the success and longevity of Ur’s career, “keeping it fresh” is the key, she says.

“I’ve met teachers who keep their lesson notes year after year and teach the same thing year after year. That’s not the way to move on.”

Treat each lesson as a new one, seek feedback from students and learn from other teachers, advises Ur.

The digital transformation of the ELT sector is happening, and although Ur embraces the volume of materials readily available to teachers, she advises them to proceed with caution and consider which tools are effectively raising the standard of English teaching.

“Sometimes I get the feeling that some teachers are doing things just because they’re up to date and not because they’re necessarily good for the learners.

“Learn about all you can but then having learned the new methods, the new digital tools, you need to look at them with a cold beady eye and and ask ‘Is this going to help me? Is this going to be successful? Is this going to help my students learn or isn’t it?’

“Using digital tools is not a value in itself. It depends on how you use it. It depends on how you choose it.”

The post Penny Ur, English Language Teacher and Author appeared first on The PIE News.

Student visa grant rates remain a concern for Australia’s Vocational Education and Training sector after a slump in issuance rates in the second half of 2022, say sector representatives. 

Between August and December 2022, the overall VET grant rate for offshore applications was 3.8% for Indian students, 16.8% for Nepal, and 23.4% for Pakistan, according to data from the Department of Home Affairs. 

Earlier this month, Troy Williams, CEO of ITECA, told The PIE that some members felt the DHA “seems to be contemptuous of the international skills training sector”. 

“The student visa application rejection rate is more profound in the international skills training sector, with some members now questioning whether their institution will be viable over the medium term,” Williams added. 

In ITECA’s submission to the government’s migration system review, the organisation wrote that the government is “sending mixed messages to the Indian student market”, as Australia simultaneously finalised a trade agreement with India while maintaining low visa grant rates to Indians. 

VET consultant Claire Field said the high visa rejection rates were in part due to the ongoing visa backlog that has hampered Australia since it reopened borders at the end of 2021.  

“The government then recruited more visa processing officials to tackle the backlog but it appears that many of the new staff do not have immigration or education sector expertise,” Field said. 

IIEA’s CEO, Phil Honeywood, also raised concerns around a lack of trained staff available at Australian embassies last year.

At the same time, Australia has seen a surge in demand, with the DHA reporting that offshore student visa applications between July and October 2022 were 40% higher than for the same period in 2019.  

“With VET course fees much lower than higher education fees and some VET providers further discounting to attract new students – these measures attracted some students looking to work full-time on a student visa,” Field said.

But the DHA warned last July that it had found fraudulent documents in students visa applications and towards the end of 2022 and there were also media reports of the involvement of VET providers in sex trafficking later in the year. 

“Some VET providers and education agents have been using the unlimited work rights opportunity to encourage applications from non-genuine students”

“Based on anecdotal reports, it seems likely that some of the newly recruited visa processing officials in the Department of Home Affairs then adopted a highly risk averse approach and hence the very high rates of visa refusals for some students,” said Field.  

“On the other hand it’s also clear that some VET providers and education agents have been using the unlimited work rights opportunity to encourage applications from non-genuine students.”

In submissions to a parliamentary inquiry, the Victorian TAFE Association, which represents Victoria’s 12 TAFE institutes, recommended that the government “prioritise and differentiate visa applications for international students who choose to study at TAFEs” rather than private registered training organisations and asked for TAFE visa data to be disaggregated from general VET data. 

“TAFEs provide genuine international student experiences and are owned by their respective State and Territory government who are resourced to comply with regulations,” the organisation wrote.

The post India VET visa rejections sending “mixed messages” appeared first on The PIE News.

The former UK home secretary who reintroduced the graduate route has today said she is a “great believer” in the scheme as reports circulate of current home secretary Suella Braverman’s plans to reduce the time students can remain in the UK.

Speaking at a parliamentary reception, Priti Patel, who led the Home Office from 2019 to 2022 under Boris Johnson, said that her work with students had been a “privilege” and “real honour”, including bringing back the two-year post study work visa for international graduates.

“We’ve got Boris Johnson to thank for that, actually, as well, as prime minister,” Patel said. “He was a great believer in driving that forward, as was I.”

According to The Times newspaper, Braverman has proposed a reduction on the time international students can stay and work in the UK after graduation from two years to six months. The paper reports that the Department for Education has opposed the plan as it would make the UK less attractive to foreign students.

In a statement responding to these reports, Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, warned the government against introducing “policies that create lasting damage to the UK’s global reputation and competitiveness, and to local economies up and down the country”.

“We strongly urge the government not to reverse course”

“For many years, the visa and immigration environment meant that levels of international recruitment to the UK stagnated while other countries saw huge growth,” Arrowsmith said, adding that the graduate route was put in place to rectify this.

“We strongly urge the government not to reverse course,” he said. “A repeating a pattern of boom and bust in international recruitment would be a big mistake.”

Patel made the remarks at a National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK event in London, which celebrated 75 “exceptional” Indian students who have studied at British institutions. The MP pledged to do more to support Indian students to come to the UK.

“In that period I was responsible for ensuring that we did absolutely everything possible, and believe you me, we will continue to do this as well to secure more Indian students coming to the UK to study in our fantastic institutions,” she said.

The post Patel praises grad route as gov’t plans new limits appeared first on The PIE News.

Stakeholders are weighing in on the appointment of education minister Chris Hipkins as the new prime minister of New Zealand, after outgoing PM Jacinda Ardern resigned in a surprise speech on January 17. 

Speculation has mounted about how he will do in the job, and for the international education sector, how he will be perceived going into the role. 

“Chris Hipkins will bring a strong understanding of the tertiary education sector to his new role as New Zealand’s prime minister,” Auckland University of Technology VC Damon Salesa told The PIE News. 

“We were heartened by his statements late last year as minister of Tertiary Education where he recognised the importance of international education to New Zealand and his promotion of New Zealand as an international education destination in Asia and North America,” he continued. 

Nicknamed “Mr Fixit” by the Labour Party – the party which he now leads – he was picked “unanimously” to succeed Ardern, just under a year after he vowed to prioritise “value over volume” in terms of the international education strategy.

“The ideal international student for us is one who leaves and wants to come back years down the track and bring their new family with them and maintain those links with the people that they become close with while they were in New Zealand,” Hipkins told The PIE at last year’s NAFSA conference. 

“Not flooding the system with a whole lot of [visa] applications that then grind everything to a halt has been a key factor in the way we’ve staggered our reopening,” Hipkins said.

Hipkins’ tenure has not only been up and down in terms of education – he was also appointed Covid-19 minister during the second term of Labour’s government, and received criticism for Auckland’s tough lockdowns. 

“He knows the vital contributions international students”

However, Hipkins’s “hyper-competent” reputation landed him in the offices of education and policing, according to a Victoria University of Wellington academic – and according to the chair of Universities New Zealand, he recognises how vital international education is to New Zealand.

“He knows the vital contributions international students – whether undergraduate, postgraduate or post-study – make not only to New Zealand’s eight universities but also to New Zealand’s society and economy, and how throughout their lives they are an invaluable connection between New Zealand and their home countries,” Cheryl de la Rey, also chair of the New Zealand Vice Chancellors’ committee, said.

 “Prime minister Hipkins also knows how crucial it is to rebuild New Zealand’s international student numbers now the country’s Covid-19 border restrictions are fully lifted, as they have been since August 2022,” Rey added. 

There were warnings from another stakeholder that while he has been an “effective and engaged” education minister, there are still policies that did not go down well with the sector.

“We were extremely disappointed that he reintroduced the Export Education Levy for 2023 at a time when providers, particularly the English language sector, need those funds to be selling the New Zealand study experience,” Kim Renner, executive director of English New Zealand, told The PIE. 

The cabinet confirmed on January 1 that after its suspension in 2022 the Export Education Levy would be reinstated this year. 

Both Renner and Rey, however, praised Hipkins – and Ardern’s – efforts to further the country’s international education agenda promoting the country through major overseas trips. Renner said he “gave first-hand insight into how it connects us globally, the important role of education agencies and how highly regarded we are is as a quality destination”. 

“We were extremely disappointed that he reintroduced the Export Education Levy for 2023″

“We greatly appreciated this support and expect it to continue under Hipkins’s successor as education minister and now Hipkins is prime minister himself,” Rey said. 

Auckland University of Technology’s PVC international Meredith Smart also added that his tenure as education minister during “covid years” means he is “probably more aware than anyone of the impact the loss of international students on the universities, the community and the economy”. 

Stakeholders cannot see into the future and how Hipkins will perform for the sector in his new role at the top, his interests in the rights of students go all the way back to when he was a student himself – going so far as getting arrested for protesting student fee hikes.

For Salesa, progress is key for this next phase of Hipkins career, and the next government. In October, New Zealand will have a general election, so Hipkins has only 10 months to prove himself – and the Labour party have some catching up to do in the polls. 

“There are some key challenges and opportunities on which we would like to see progress under his Government. These include more competitive immigration policy settings to make the country a more attractive study destination,” Salesa added. 

Read The PIE’s full interview with Chris Hipkins at NAFSA 2022. 

The post Incoming NZ PM “knows vital contributions” int’l students make appeared first on The PIE News.

Australia has officially joined a UNESCO framework allowing qualifications from its institutions to be recognised internationally.

By joining the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, Australian institutions and their students will more easily be globally mobile, Canberra says.

Adopted by UNESCO in 2019, the Global Convention seeks to reduce obstacles for students pursuing further studies or employment internationally. And Australia’s minister for education, Jason Clare, said the country’s ratification is “a significant education milestone”.

It is designed to allow students and graduates to “have their qualifications recognised in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner around the world”.

“The 1.4 million students who study at our universities each year can now have even greater confidence that their Australian qualification, whether undertaken onshore, offshore or online, will be recognised in other countries, helping them to access higher education abroad, as well as pursue greater employment opportunities,” Clare said.

Minister for Skills and Training, Brendan O’Connor, added that it will also “boost international recognition of Australia’s world-class, vocational education and training graduates who are equipped with skills ready for the jobs of the 21st Century”.

Universities Australia acting chief executive Peter Chesworth highlighted that the agreement will benefit students from over 144 countries studying at Australia’s universities.

“This agreement ensures they can take their education, skills and knowledge anywhere, contributing to the development of new relationships and building understanding between nations,” he said.

“It also creates new opportunities for Australia’s universities to expand their operations overseas and contribute even more to the global challenge of educating more people around the world.”

On December 5, Iceland and Andorra ratified Global Convention, meaning the 20 states required to make the agreement became legally binding was reached. Weeks later, on December 21, Australia ratified the convention. For Australia, it will come into force on March 21 of this year.

The peak body for independent skills training, higher education, and international education providers, ITECA, welcomed the treaty.

“Independent skills training and higher education providers offer qualifications in areas as diverse as law, nursing, aviation, mining, IT and communications, through to construction, transport and logistics. It’s great that these qualifications will empower students in the global marketplace,” said Troy Williams, ITECA chief executive.

“The Convention provides a clear framework for recognition of qualifications delivered online and backs Australia’s robust recognition of prior learning framework. In many respects, the Convention plays to the strengths of Australia’s tertiary education system.”

The Australian Qualifications Framework review, “considerable” skills reform agenda and the further review of higher education have all helped “create a framework in which independent skills training and higher education providers have established an internationally renowned reputation for excellence”, he added.

Signature of the convention was a key part of the ‘Ensuring global competitiveness’ strand of the government’s Strategy for International Education 2021-2030.

By strengthening the recognition of Australian qualifications, the government would “secure further study and employment opportunities for all students that study with Australia”, the document said.

The University of Melbourne recently urged the government to do more to support qualifications recognition.

“The Global Convention will also boost international recognition of Australia’s world-class education sector”

“The UNESCO Convention has the potential to promote greater student and graduate mobility, and to enable better information-sharing between countries relating to qualifications,” it wrote to the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade in December.

Improved recognition of Australian qualifications internationally will enhance “the value and utility of those qualifications, and will provide a forum through which Australia can influence standards around recognition internationally”, the university added.

Like the government said in its press release, Melbourne said the convention will help providers to diversify their forms of delivery, including micro-credentials, joint degrees, and quality online learning.

These points were also picked up by the Independent Higher Education Australia.

“Being part of the Global Convention will also boost international recognition of Australia’s world-class education sector, which includes independent higher education providers, IHEA CEO, Peter Hendy, said.

“Australia’s diverse independent higher education sector comprises established and stable providers playing an important role in addressing skill needs and delivering quality education to domestic and international students from a range of backgrounds.”

The post Australia joins qualifications framework appeared first on The PIE News.

International Day of Education 2023 is being marked across the globe, with the driving theme behind this year’s iteration bringing the education of Afghan women and girls into focus, UNESCO has said.

The organisation’s director general took a hard stance on the “attack” on the Taliban forces banning education for women in the country, reiterating that “education is a human right”.

“No country in the world should bar women and girls from receiving an education. Education is a universal human right that must be respected,” said UNESCO’s director-general Audrey Azoulay.  

“The international community has the responsibility to ensure that the rights of Afghan girls and women are restored without delay. The war against women must stop,” she added. 

The organisation is formally calling for the “immediate and non-negotiable access” to education and a return to school for all girls and young women in Afghanistan.

After banning education of women and girls in most schools and insisting the ban was “not permanent”, it subsequently told universities across the country to stop teaching women as well – and reneged on its promise of lifting the so-called temporary ban. 

UNESCO data showed that there was a “tenfold increase” from one to 10 million students from 2001 to 2018, with four out of 10 primary school students being girls by August 2021. 

The international education community has since stepped up to assist and try and offer ways for Afghan girls to learn, as Ruth Arnold told The PIE News.

“They need a lifeline and determined effort to reopen opportunities”

“There are practical ways we can help. Locked down Afghan students may have access to technology. In fact, the Afghan Women’s Organisation says this is often one of the only ways to make contact with women and girls,” Arnold said.

“Despite repeated power cuts, online materials keep education alive. FutureLearn is, for example, making online qualifications available free while the Taliban education ban stays in place, and initiatives like this sustain possibility. 

“Just as importantly, they also make clear Afghan women students have not been forgotten by their global peers,” she added.

FutureLearn is just one of the international education organisations that have taken to the task of helping to open access to education; a scholarship developed by DAAD is also planned to help 5,000 before 2027.

Arnold also praised the UN for not staying silent about the issue, calling it a “de facto gender apartheid”. 

“The UN is right to shine a global spotlight on education. As Nelson Mandela said ‘Education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world’…but Afghan women and girls need more than rhetoric from the global education community. 

“They need a lifeline and determined effort to reopen opportunities,” she said. 

UNESCO said that the day, which is in its fifth iteration, will call for “maintaining strong political mobilisation around education” and help “translate commitments and global initiatives into action”. It also said education’s prioritisation would accelerate progress towards the UN’s SDGs “against a backdrop of a global recession and a climate crisis”. 

“Afghan women and girls need more than rhetoric from the global education community”

The UN is also holding a talk on “Youth Dialogues in Innovative Learning” at 3pm EST on January 24, where students will share their viewpoints on transforming educational pedagogy.

What are you doing for International Education Day 2023? Come join us at the #LPF23 to talk about #transformingeducation and #youth and #student engagement at the advent of the #UN Youth Office. pic.twitter.com/FELxTCYXPm

— Global Student Forum (@GlobalStuForum) January 13, 2023

The International Rescue Committee created a new animated film to be released in conjunction with International Education Day, showcasing the plight of young refugees starting education in the UK after fleeing places like Afghanistan, Ukraine and Syria. 

“I didn’t just lose my voice. I felt like I lost myself.”

For refugee children fleeing conflict and crisis, starting school is daunting.

The IRC’s Healing Classrooms trains teachers to provide children a safe place to learn and heal.

Watch & share this #EducationDay: pic.twitter.com/zZNQZTMDAf

— International Rescue Committee – UK (@RESCUE_UK) January 24, 2023

The Irish Council of International Students also marked International Education Day by speaking to two of its international student fellows for their perspective on education. 

“The world is changing very fast. The ways we were taught twenty or thirty years ago may not fit the current perspectives of learners and society, especially in light of technology and climate change. 

“It is crucial for educators to adopt and innovate our approach to maximise the use of technology advantage and promote further innovation, collaboration and actions for sustainable development,” said Pov Pheung, a Cambodian student studying in Limerick. 

“No society can permanently hold back education. As Virginia Woolf wrote, ‘Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind’,” Arnold added.

The post International Day of Education 2023: “protect the rights of Afghan women” appeared first on The PIE News.